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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nMost of North Carolina\u2019s 56 deaths happened far inland. In Buncombe County, at least 40 people were killed, County Manager Avril Pinder said. The county includes Asheville, the scenic mountain city now engulfed by murky brown floodwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the water slowly retreats, \u201cWe are seeing just piles of people\u2019s houses that were destroyed. Buildings that were destroyed. Cars overturned,\u201d Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe power lines look like spaghetti. It\u2019s hard to describe the chaos that it looks like. It really feels like a post-apocalyptic scene.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Many shell-shocked survivors can\u2019t even begin the arduous task of rebuilding because they don\u2019t have basic necessities such as clean drinking water, food, cell phone service, and electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three tractor-trailers full of water arrived in Buncombe County Monday morning, Pinder said. But it is only enough to supply each resident with one day\u2019s worth of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Compounding the tragedy, some roads and bridges that are desperately needed to carry aid or reach trapped victims are now impassable or no longer exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are cut off from highway access from 3 of the 4 major highways into Asheville,\u201d the mayor said. \u201cSome resources are having to be flown in. \u2026 I can\u2019t even think about a time frame for how long it\u2019s going to take to recover from this storm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why the death toll will likely keep rising<\/p>\n\n\n Hundreds of people are reported missing, though it\u2019s not clear how many succumbed to the storm and how many survived but lack communications access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe know that death toll will rise,\u201d Asheville\u2019s mayor said. \u201cWe\u2019ve heard accounts of people seeing houses floating down the river with people in them.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the 56 people killed in North Carolina, Helene also killed at least 30 victims in South Carolina, 25 in Georgia, 11 in Florida, four in Tennessee and two in Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDevastation does not even begin to describe how we feel,\u201d Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller said Monday. One of his deputies was among three North Carolina sheriff\u2019s deputies killed by Helene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Officials implored residents to avoid traveling to hard-hit areas so emergency responders can reach those in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cConsider the roads closed in western North Carolina,\u201d Gov. Roy Cooper told CNN Monday. \u201cWe do not need sightseers coming in to observe the damage. We ask you not to come in unless you are on a specific mission to help with rescue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Not enough resources to reach everyone\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n While images from western North Carolina look catastrophic, \u201cthings are even more devastating in person,\u201d Marion resident Krista Cortright said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She and her boyfriend typically drive 25 minutes to get to his grandmother\u2019s house in Black Mountain. But on Sunday, they drove 2 1\/2 hours to deliver supplies to his diabetic grandmother.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n While visiting his grandmother, they noticed her neighbor\u2019s driveway had vanished. So Cortright and her boyfriend gave them food and water, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s not enough resources to reach everyone,\u201d Cortright said. \u201cMy heart is broken for our people here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The governor and the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency visited decimated parts of western North Carolina on Monday. And thousands of US National Guard members have been activated to help with recovery efforts across the East Coast, the Pentagon said<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But help can\u2019t come quickly enough, Asheville\u2019s mayor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need emergency relief right now,\u201d Manheimer said. \u201cWe need everything from food (and) water to port-a-potties to baby formula.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Not expecting power for a really long time\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n Four days after Helene ripped through northern Florida all the way up to Virginia, about 1.9 million power customers still had no electricity in the region, according to PowerOutage.us<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the number of people without electricity is far higher since each power customer could be a household or business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Weaverville, a town just north of Asheville, all the power lines have been destroyed, local middle school teacher Ben Sharp told the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re not expecting power for a really long time,\u201d Sharp said. \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone expected this to happen because we don\u2019t have stuff like this in Asheville.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asheville\u2019s mayor acknowledged she doesn\u2019t know how long it will take to restore electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is an unprecedented, catastrophic event,\u201d Manheimer said. \u201cSo we cannot yet estimate how long it will take to restore power to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n President Joe Biden will visit some of the hardest-hit areas later this week, \u201cas soon as it will not disrupt emergency response operations,\u201d the White House said Sunday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The President has approved disaster relief and has been in contact with the governors where the damage was most severe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Survivors share resources \u2013 even oxygen<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Asheville, strangers have stepped up to deliver water, diapers, and other supplies to neighbors in need \u2013 including a family with a five-day-old infant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Helene\u2019s destruction \u201cis the most devastating thing I\u2019ve ever seen in our whole city,\u201d said Michelle Coleman, executive director of the Asheville Dream Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur prayer is that people are just not losing hope because our community is coming together. Asheville is a strong community,\u201d Coleman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gary O\u2019Dell, a disabled Vietnam War veteran, epitomized that generosity by sharing his oxygen tank with a neighbor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou don\u2019t realize, oxygen is very important,\u201d said O\u2019Dell, who suffers from lung cancer. But he didn\u2019t hesitate to give up some of his vital supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy next-door neighbor ran out of oxygen,\u201d O\u2019Dell said. \u201cHe\u2019s in worse shape than I am.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n More rain could impede recovery efforts<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Baker-Jarvis-tries-to-salvage-his-belongings-after-Hurricane-Helene-tore-across-the-Florida-panhandle-and-annihilated-his-home-in-Keaton-Beach.webp?resize=1015%2C677&ssl=1\")
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